Tiny Clanger

Thanks for that. I have a twin polariser type Moon filter (and a straightforward ND one as well ) , had no need of either for the sake of brightness reducing with the ST80 , my 127 mak is right on the edge .... I can manage a short time using it without filtering the Moon, but find it too bright for prolonged unfiltered viewing. With the 150mm aperture dob though, the Moon dazzles me to the point of making me reflexively look away, so that's when I really need an ND filter ! I guess an ND filter might make the CA less obtrusive, and the Celestron Moon filter I bought certainly isn't a proper ND by photographic standards : it has a slight green tinge so it could perhaps cut slightly more green light . I know there are 'fringe killer' filters which suggest they will do the job ( for instance https://www.firstlightoptics.com/achromat-semi-apo-filters/baader-fringe-killer-filter.html but £60 seems a bit steep to (possibly ) sort a problem in a second hand 'scope that cost me not much more than that ... So, now I have another thing to check out , one Moonlit night : budget strategies vs CA in the ST80 🙂 ... I have the Moon filter, a plain pale yellow filter (which may do the job) , a pair of polarising ND's and (drum roll please) the little cap within a cap thingummy which is actually calculated to be an anti CA device ( see vlaiv's recent thread on the subject here https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/373391-want-to-use-achromat-for-planetary-observing-but-ca-is-bugging-you/?tab=comments#comment-4051798 I don't find the CA a problem, I know what it is, and why it happens (if you are interested, this explains it very well, look near the end of the extract ) and I appreciate it is a compromise that has to be made to get a refractor 'scope in this sort of bargain price range. The human mind is a great , free filter , if people can mentally filter out a guy in a gorilla suit walking behind some people chucking a basketball around because he is irrelevant to the task they were given , I really should be able to train myself to concentrate on my target whilst ignoring a predictable and pretty coloured rim 🙂 Heather

Will do. In early autumn I compared the SW 32mm plossl to the 25mm BST in my 150 heritage dob (which is a quite fast f5), and find I actually prefer the plossl ,it seems to give better shaped stars at the edges, and the apparent field of view the two EPs offer is practically the same . I've not repeated the exercise in the far faster mak or the st80 yet , too busy enjoying finding new objects in the sky to look at in the short clear spells on offer over this winter ! Heather

Oh, forgot to say, there is some padding to the bag , maybe a couple of mm of closed cell foam, it does afford some protection from knocks.

As it may be useful to someone else, what with this tiddler of a 'scope being so eminently portable, I thought I'd post a couple of photos and a link to the bag I bought for mine. The photos are of the bag on top of the packaging it came in, with the st80 not even properly closed down for safe transport : the focuser wound part out, diagonal & EP still in place ...I just wanted to see if it would fit or should it go straight back. The RDF had to come off, but it fits in the bag lying on the focus tube. The bag handles are well sewn in and strong, a continuous band running under the bag, they also velcro together. The D rings for the detachable shoulder strap are well set , the weakest point is probably the zip, but being on top it is not under any stress . There's a tiny zip pocket inside, maybe big enough for an eyepiece cap, I may stick some duct tape over it if I think it may scratch the paintwork ! Note that this is an ST80 with a dovetail rail, not rings, you'd need to measure to ensure they fit the bag internal diameter (which is given on the amaz. listing. Goodness knows how much this bag would cost if marketed for telescopes , but as it is intended for photo tripods , it was under £12 . There are several to choose from on the page , mine is the 50cm x 12 cm one. Heather

I've really enjoyed the brief forays outside I've managed with the st80, it is ideal for swift deployment when an unanticipated break in the clouds happens and doesn't look as if it will last long : carry it out, extend the tripod legs , whip off the caps and go. I've left a 17mm 'super plossl' more or less permanently in it I'm rather attached to that plossl, it was my first supplementary EP purchase, and really pretty darn good for £20, but not getting much use in my other 'scopes now I have some BSTs . I've also used the 2x barlow (which I simply dislike using in the mak or dob for no reason I can put my finger on ) and found it good with the 17mm in the st80 , so along with recycling the stock RDF and diagonal from the mak (which I upgraded from asap) and using a photo tripod and head, the st80 feels like thrifty virtuous recycling rather than just yet another new toy . So far I've tried most of my medium & high power eyepieces (mainly BST starguiders) with the '80, and they feel like overkill, heavier than seems right (not that the 'scope or focuser can't cope, just physically out of scale) and no improvement on the plossl .I want to compare the BST 25mm with the 25mm stock MA 'long eye relief' one and my 32mm plossl at some point, but not got round to it yet. The strongest EP I have is a 6mm TMB clone, which pushes my 127 mak to the edge of 'floater' territory for me but in the 1500 mak gives amazing lunar close ups .... but with the 6mm in the ST80 , the full Moon doesn't even fill the FOV 🙂 The little frac.showed a neat line of CA all around the edge of the Moon, which changed from green to magenta depending on my eye placement, the famous (or possibly notorious) C.A. Can't say it bothered me, but whether it will become annoying or not when the novelty wears off, only time will tell. Despite the relatively low magnification, I got decent views tiny but distinct views of mountains on the western limb (Montes Cordillera and the Montes Rook I think) Deeply unimpressive views of Mars as a pinky-orange pinhead , but decent enough views of the Orion Nebula, the inevitable Pleiades (all in one 17mm plossl view !) and sharp little pin point stars . I'm not enormously bothered to look for double stars, but did notice the Plough was peeping up above my house roof, so had a quick look at Mizar and could see A and B clearly. On the 22nd of February there was a clear evening with a near full Moon rising around 7:30, so I went out for a short early look with my 150 dob, spent half an hour on the three clusters in Auriga (M 36, M37 & M38) high in my southern sky. With a very short time to go before moonrise, had a sudden 'I wonder' thought, nipped indoors, fetched the ST80, plonked it down by the dob, and managed to see all three clusters in the little frac : nothing like as distinct as in the dob, but certainly there . I am rather impressed with the ST80 as a widefield , quick set up instrument. It's not going to make someone happy of they are hoping for detail on the planets , but it is fast and easy to set up and a doddle to aim. Heather

Dear lord, and international moose/elk incident would be a serious thing , those perishers are large and somewhat likely to kick back , as quite a few random hikers and idiots attempting to hand feed or acquire a selfie with the 'cute' creature have painfully discovered. But they do have a place in the history of astronomy , search out 'Tycho Brahe's moose' online ...

No need for sticks, just get yourself a beer tray, as wielded by the excellent dog rose morris

Thanks for that, I tried the maths for the little Orion st80 I bought second hand recently , and got a (rounded to the nearest cm) number of 45cm , which just happens to be the exact diameter of the smaller cap-within-a-cap hole in the lens cover . Almost as if they knew Heather

I assumed so too , this was the first link my search threw out https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telescopes/sky-watcher-star-discovery-150p-go-to-reflector/

This site is a few years old, but has some useful insights http://washedoutastronomy.com/washedoutastronomy.com/content/urban-galaxies/index.html And I've posted a link to the Loughton list several times in the past, one more can't hurt : think of it as a free printable to keep you busy until you can get a copy of the excellent ' turn left at Orion' . You don't give a location, so I have no idea if the fact it has UK season references is a good thing for you or not . https://las-astro.org.uk/docs/Loughton_List_v2_0.pdf

That was a long gestation period, hope the delivery goes well ! 🙂

I've managed a good few DSOs from my bortle 5 garden with a 150 dob, so don't give up ! I'd try without the filter, I'm not convinced they are effective with modern LED street lights. Do allow plenty of time for your eyes to dark adapt : I need about half an hour, but it varies from person to person. Only use a very dim red light if absolutely needed for tasks (to be honest, in bortle 5 the sky glow is usually enough for most purposes !) Even a moment's bright light will mean you have to start your dark adaptation all over again. Train yourself to use averted vision, looking to the side of the place of interest. This allows the more low light sensitive parts of the eye to do their thing (our central view is tuned for colour vision, not low light vision) If you have binoculars (no need to be expensive, big or powerful ones) try scanning the target area with them, and try the averted vision trick while using them too , it works ! Abandon faint DSO hunting if there is bright moonlight swamping the sky. In those conditions I go with the flow and become a lunar observer. Three nice easy targets I saw recently from the garden in my 150mm, and then just for fun tried for and found with my second hand bargain basement 80mm short tube refractor are M 36 , 37 and 38, all open clusters in Auriga , quite high in my southern sky last week. I like the starfish cluster best, because it really does look like a starfish ! https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-38-starfish-cluster/ Heather

This thread is well worth reading: Many folk like zoom eyepieces, but every and any choice of optical equipment involves compromises, and my personal prejudice ( after decades of experience with photographic lenses) is for primes, As wulfrun says, the stock 25mm should do fine for the moment, no need to upgrade that instantly. I'd suggest waiting until you have used the 'scope a bit to make the decision where to spend your £150, it may well be that your experience with the setup points you to something else which needs an upgrade in that initial extras budget : I think the 150p is a go to ? You may find your money best spent on a powerbank and maybe one 8mm eyepiece, but you won't know until you give it a try. Heather

If the finder alignment is the problem , here's a link to the step by step 'how to' I typed up for someone else : they had a red dot finder, if yours is an optical finder (like a tiny telescope) the process is the same, just centre the view in the finder rather than a red dot. Heather

In which case , as Arthur D. said,the world's your lobster ! And I have nothing useful or specific to add, only admiring such expensive toys from afar 🙂 but I'm sure plenty of other folk will have suggestions based on actual experience ! Heather

Here's a low tech way to check : if you happen to have any old 35mm plastic film pots around, one will fit easily inside a 1.25" eyepiece tube . Heather

Yep, weird shadow post evaporated from the original , but still visible where I quoted it ! Heather

Wise words ( some weird formatting going on there tho' : I seem to see a 'shadow post' below the actual one ! Did you use the edit option from the 3 dots to the top right of the post ?) Very local conditions can make a big difference, one street lamp and some houses with bright outdoor lighting several streets away scuppers my view for about twenty horizontal degrees in the WSW from my garden : the sky is noticeably brighter there, and I know any target in that patch below about 50 degrees altitude is simply not worth looking at, so if possible I try to catch it earlier when it is further to the East . The only way for the OP to know for sure if there is any improvement to be had from the middle of the field is to try it , I suspect it may be slightly better if there are no intrusive house 'security' lights etc , but if that improvement will be worth carrying the kit out there only they can decide . Give it a try , if it works, it's a free upgrade ! Heather

The original asking price on that was £36, Alan has them brand new and in stock for £43 plus P&P, so not much of a saving, which I think is why it lasted longer than the usual few minutes ! 🙂 Heather

Cleaning the car ? Cleaning the car ??? An activity just as likely to cause rain clouds as getting the telescope out is ! I suggest putting away or carefully covering all garden furniture , taking in the washing, and buying an expensive new waterproof jacket online . Should be dry and clear for days ...

There was ... it sold (after being unsold for far longer than they usually are on here because of a slightly optimistic asking price ...) Alan at sky's the limit has stock : https://skys-the-limit-108154.square.site/shop/1-25-bst-starguider-ed/8 But if the OP is seriously considering an ES 82 , they may want to spend more ...

I'm thinking of that scene in 'A Clockwork Orange' ....

You will get more helpful replies if you say how much you are willing to spend ... Heather

I use something similar, mostly because I'm thrifty (or possibly just mean) and had a lovely little maglite solitaire (bulb version, I imagine the newer ones are LED ?) which had become redundant through acquiring brighter more efficient white light torches for non astro use.. Rather than just buy something new, I cut a circle of red acetate and stuck it to the lens with PVA glue (which is white, but dries to transparency) .One layer of acetate gave a nice bright red light ... too bright in fact, so a second disc went on top of the first. Now the light is dim, very dim, but it does not affect my eyes adjustment at all, and is just sufficient to see things when the torch is held a couple of cm away. I also use a turn of glow in the dark tape around the bottom of my tripods legs and to mark the top of my kit boxes, and glow in the dark cord on the zip pulls of bags etc : I originally got the glow in the dark cord to make easy to find tent door zip pulls, it is great stuff . Heather

When comparing the two remember that one is a planet where you are seeing a rocky surface with dark markings through a very thin atmosphere, whilst on the other we see the top of a reflective atmosphere of hydrogen & helium. Also, whilst the sizes shown are no doubt accurate mathematical comparisons, don't forget the solar system s dynamic, and the apparent size to us of a planet depends on where it is on its orbit compared to ours. Mars was close enough to Earth in the summer for even my beginner telescope and cheap eyepieces to show me several surface features, including what turned out to be a dust storm in progress . It took hours of persistence, and a lucky few minutes' burst of good seeing, and I didn't actually know what I had seen until I came indoors to write up my observing notes, logged in here, and found the marking I'd observed ( and which did not match what Mars Mapper had suggested I should be seeing) being talked about as a dust storm . I'm still quite excited about that, months later ! The equipment I had at that time was not particularly ideal for planetary use the dust storm was seen with a £200 heritage 150 dob , a £20 17mm skywatcher plossl and cheap far eastern orange filter from a suburban back garden. It was part of what persuaded me to buy a longer focal length 'scope specifically for use viewing the planets (and the Moon) I've found I need to be patient : there are parts of the sky from my garden which have too much skyglow to be worth looking at things when they are in that part of the sky. Any object lower than around 20 degrees altitude minimum will not be worth spending much time on. A planet too low or too distant because of its orbit is not worth spending too much time on. Wait until objects are in favourable places and distances : that's the beauty of this game : most stuff comes round again (OK, so comets, you may wait a while ...) Heather